Ex-Coronation Street star Rupert Hill has come to the rescue of another under-threat boozer by adding The Bakers Vaults in Stockport to his growing pub empire.

The popular watering hole and live music venue shut last Christmas, much to the disappointment of regulars.

But now it is ready to rise again with the actor and his business partners Jonny Booth and Jamie Langrish at the helm.

The trio - the team behind Northern Quarter pubs Gullivers and The Castle, the Eagle Inn in Salford and the Parlour in Chorlton - have given the place a trendy yet traditional makeover with the help of Robinsons Brewery.

Inside it’s been redecorated in a cool grey and dark blue colour scheme, while the previously central bar has been shifted towards the back of the building to make way for more seating.

A new kitchen has also been put in, which will be serving up gourmet hotdogs in the style of Parlour Dogs, the Parlour’s street food stall in the beer garden of neighbouring Chorlton pub The Beech Inn.

And there’s even talk of turning the basement into a dedicated live music or gallery space in the future.

Jamie said the refurbishment had really reinvigorated the place.

We had heard rumours online that the pub was being made into a carvery which couldn’t be further from the truth,” he said.

“We have gone back to the Bakers Vault’s roots and re-established it as a great pub with a huge range of craft beers, spirits and ales.”

The Grade II-listed pub was previously known as the George and Dragon and was built around 1775 on the remaining foundations of the old Stockport castle.

The original building was demolished in the late 19th century and rebuilt in the gin palace style of the times.

Jonny said: “The Bakers has always been known as a music venue but a lot of people don’t know its history as a turn of the century gin palace.”

A launch party for invited guests will be held on Thursday before the pub reopens to the public from noon on Friday.

But Rupert will have to wait until Saturday to raise a glass to his latest venture - the actor, who played Jamie Baldwin in Corrie, is currently away filming new movie Awaiting, in which he appears alongside X Factor star Diana Vickers.